HFMA Digital Annual Conference - Technology for Financial Engagement

Dallas-based healthcare executive Paul Generale joined CHRISTUS Health in 1998 and has served as executive vice president since 2015. A member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Paul Generale is a Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA).

The HFMA Digital Annual Conference 2020 invited multiple health companies to give short presentations about their innovative solutions for improving performance in healthcare revenue cycles. The first health system in the country to utilize augmented reality in its billing process, Banner Health developed an application that, with the scan of a QR code on a billing statement, introduces an avatar to explain each aspect of the bill.

Patients gain a clearer understanding of their financial responsibility, payment due dates, and portions covered by insurance, without having to call a customer service representative. In its first eight months of service, more than 1,600 patients downloaded the app, and among them, only 9 percent called customer service after using the app. This represents a marked reduction in traditional call rates for customers following bill receipt.

ACHE Conducts Ongoing Research

A healthcare executive with more than two decades of experience, Paul Generale joined CHRISTUS Health in 1998 and has served as executive vice president of the nonprofit Catholic health system since 2015. To stay informed of topics within the healthcare field, Paul Generale maintains membership in the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).

A professional membership society for healthcare leaders, ACHE comprises 48,000 members committed to confronting health care’s biggest challenges. To pursue that mission, the organization conducts ongoing research in healthcare management, conducting qualitative interviews, convening member focus groups, and analyzing annual membership data to better understand workforce challenges. ACHE research initiatives also include workplace studies to assess senior leadership staffing, helping healthcare systems develop diverse, inclusive leadership teams.

ACHE’s About the Workplace research compiles data on healthcare executives’ career attainments by race and ethnicity, allowing organizations to gain a clearer understanding of leadership demographics. The research also compares career attainment based on gender and makes recommendations to achieve gender equality in the workplace.

CHRISTUS Health Expands Presence in TX

A Dallas healthcare system administrator, Paul Generale has served as the executive vice president and chief strategy and network officer with CHRISTUS Health since 2016. With an emphasis on ensuring quality healthcare within an expanding health care system, Paul Generale oversees a network that comprises New Mexico, Louisiana, and Texas.

As part of its expansion efforts, CHRISTUS Health announced in December 2020 that it had signed a letter of intent to pay $27 million for Hopkins County Hospital District’s stake in a joint venture. The letter of intent has been approved, and final negotiations are now underway. In 2016, the CHRISTUS Hopkins Health

Alliance partnership was forged as a way of jointly operating and managing CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital, located in Sulphur Springs, Texas, as well as its associated clinics.

At the time that the joint venture was established, Hopkins County Hospital District possessed a 49 percent stake, while CHRISTUS possessed a 51 percent stake. Through the acquisition of the district’s stake, CHRISTUS will become the sole operator of CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital.

The acquisition was described as an opportunity for CHRISTUS Health to continue to ensure high levels of care to patients across northeast Texas. As part of the transaction, the faith-based health provider made a commitment to invest significantly in a number of capital improvement projects. Over the course of a five-year period, $5 million will be invested in areas that extend beyond basic care and encompass physician recruitment and IT capacities. At the same time, the Hopkins County Hospital District will contribute as much as $2 million each year to the CHRISTUS Hopkins Alliance to cover the cost of indigent care for patients with limited financial resources.  

CHRISTUS Health COVID-19 Vaccination

A longtime Dallas, Texas, healthcare administrator, Paul Generale serves as the chief strategy and network officer and executive vice president with CHRISTUS Health. In his work guiding the not-for-profit Catholic health system, Paul Generale has a focus on ensuring high standards of care throughout the pandemic and beyond.

Starting in December 2020, the CHRISTUS Health system made rapid progress in the process of distributing the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to frontline healthcare professionals across its hospitals and clinics. This included the Christus Bossier Emergency Hospital in Louisiana, where physicians received a dose of the Pfizer vaccine mid-month, to be followed by the second and final dose three weeks later.

By early January 2021, the rollout of vaccinations for Phase 1B recipients had begun, with these doses reserved for any patients who are above the age of 65, as well as those over age 16 and with specified medical conditions. As the vaccine rollout progressed in a smooth and orderly fashion, patients were asked to exercise patience as appointment times for vaccinations gradually became available.